Into the Ether - Complete

Spring, When New Things Grow: Part 33

I saw a woman stand and brandish a gun in the direction of the stage. I heard a shot followed by two others. Then I looked at the stage and saw my daughter's shocked expression, the red of blood splashed across her dress.

"Down!" I heard Pavel shout before my face hit the utilitarian gray short weave carpet, and six-feet-four-inches of lard, lean muscle threw himself on top of me. And then all hell broke loose.

There was screaming and hysteria, people trying to storm the exits. It took a moment or two for the lights to come up, and then Alberta's voice came over the PA issuing instructions to the Guardians before asking the audience to exit the hall calmy and assemble outside in the commons. During all this, Pavel was frantically issuing instructions into his lapel radio, his earpiece chirping as his Guardians reported in. Finally, he rolled off me, holding his hand out to help me up.

"Why Pavel – I never knew you felt that way," I joked in shock. Pavel and I had been through a lot over the years, but it was a surprise to be reminded it was life and death sometimes.

Looking around me, it was hard to make sense of what I was seeing. On the stage, I could see Belikov surrounded by several crouching Guardians. He was lying flat, and he wasn't moving, so I couldn't tell his status. Likewise, there was a crowd of Guardians surrounding the row where the gunwoman had been. Finally, I looked across to see Janine Hathaway flanked by three Guardians.

"You need to come with us Guardian Hathaway," one of them said nervously. He was holding a pair of handcuffs, but looked loathe to use them. "We've been asked to take you to the holding cells just while all this is being figured out."

She nodded in assent, reaching into her pockets and handing over her stakes, a knife, her firearm and her own handcuffs.

On the other side of the hall, I could see a shell-shocked young Guardian, nineteen or twenty at the most, in handcuffs being led away.

"Rose?" I asked, looking at Pavel almost too afraid to ask.

"Has been secured at the infirmary. I need to remove you from here now," Pavel said tersely, looking about him still on high alert.

The hall wasn't far from the infirmary, and I could hear my daughter as soon as we entered through the outer electric doors. She was shouting at the top of her lungs. Not sure what sight awaited me, Pavel led me to a room where I found Rose standing beside a hospital bed, handcuffed to it by one wrist.

"I'm sorry Mr. Mazur," Fernandes reported nervously as Rose was screaming abuse at him, using language I didn't think an eighteen-year-old would know. "We had a difficult time getting her away, and she keeps trying to get to Belikov, so we had to handcuff her."

"Abe! What's happened to Dimitri? No one's telling me anything? You have to make them let me go! I need to see Dimitri!"

The girl was frantic, trying to wrench her hand from the handcuff restraining her.

"Rose calm down," I ordered in a slightly shaky voice. "Pavel will get an update on Dimitri now. Please sit down and relax. I promise you as soon as we know more, you can go to him." Nodding, Pavel left my side heading back out to the hall to discover the fate of my son-in-law.

"I should be with him now!" Rose shouted, angry tears coursing down her face.

Now I could see her properly, I could see the red staining on her dress wasn't as substantial as I'd initially thought. And it obviously wasn't hers. Which only left one option.

"It's his blood!" she shouted, correctly interpreting the direction of my gaze. "He's hurt, and he needs me! I need to be there with him!"